Statue of Benjamin Franklin (San Francisco)

Benjamin Franklin – also known as the Benjamin Franklin Memorial, Benjamin Franklin Statue and Cogswell Historical Monument – is an outdoor sculpture in Washington Square, San Francisco, California.

1. Description

The smaller-than-life-size bronze statue of American Founding Father Benjamin Franklin, by an unknown sculptor, stands upon an ornate granite base, that contains a time capsule. There are inscriptions on all four sides of the base. Spigots once dispensed drinking water into three stone basins. The spigots have been removed.

1. History

Created as a Temperance fountain by crusader Henry D. Cogswell, the monument was originally installed at Kearny and Market Streets in 1879. In 1904, it was relocated to Washington Square. In 1979, 100 years after its creation, a time capsule that was hidden in the statue's base was removed and opened, and contained Cogswell's personal papers. A new time capsule, to be opened in 2079, was installed.

1. In popular culture

The statue is visible behind Richard Brautigan and Michaela Le Grand on the original cover of Brautigan's 1967 novel Trout Fishing in America.

1. See also

Benjamin Franklin in popular culture Drinking fountains in the United States

1. References


1. External links

Franklin, Benjamin statue in Washington Square in San Francisco, California Archived 2014-09-03 at the Wayback Machine at DC Memorials

Nearby Places View Menu

Washington Square (San Francisco)

Washington Square is an American park in the North Beach district of San Francisco. It was established in 1847 and is one of the city's first parks. The park is bordered by sidewalk cafes and restaurants such as Mama's (restaurant), Tony’s Pizza Napoletana, and Park Tavern restaurants and the Liguria Bakery, as well as Sts. Peter and Paul Church.

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North Beach, San Francisco

North Beach is a neighborhood in the northeast of San Francisco adjacent to Chinatown, the Financial District, and Russian Hill. The neighborhood is San Francisco's "Little Italy" and has historically been home to a large Italian American population, largely from Northern Italy. It still has many Italian restaurants and a sizeable Italian community, though many other ethnic groups currently live in the neighborhood. It was also the historic center of the beatnik subculture and has become one of San Francisco's main nightlife districts as well as a residential neighborhood populated by a mix of young urban professionals, families, and Chinese immigrants. The American Planning Association (APA) has named North Beach as one of ten "Great Neighborhoods in America".

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Pagoda Palace

Pagoda Palace was a movie theater in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood on Columbus Avenue opposite Washington Square. It operated as a vaudeville theater and movie house before being torn down in 2013.

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Saints Peter and Paul Church, San Francisco

Saints Peter and Paul Church (Italian: Ss. Pietro e Paolo, Chinese: 聖伯多禄圣保禄教堂) is a Catholic church in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood. Located at 666 Filbert Street, it is directly across from Washington Square and is administered by the Salesians of Don Bosco. It is known as "la cattedrale italiana dell'Ovest", or the Italian Cathedral of the West (the use of the word "Cathedral" is merely colloquial, not an official designation), and has served as the home church and cultural center for San Francisco's Italian-American community since its consecration. It offers English, Italian, and Cantonese-language services.

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